Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ), the country's second-largest lender by assets, posted a 29 per cent increase in fourth-quarter net profit on Monday, falling short of analyst forecasts.

The bank earned a net profit of QR387 million ($106.28 million) for the three months to December last year, it said in a statement. That compares with a profit of QR300 million it reported in the year-earlier period.

Five analysts had forecast an average quarterly profit of QR425.1 million, according to a Reuters poll.

CBQ made a net profit of QR1.94 billion in 2014, up 20.9 per cent from 2013, the statement said.

The bank said its board was recommending a combination of a cash dividend payout of 3.5 riyals per share and the issue of one bonus share for every 10 shares held for 2014. CBQ's board had recommended a mixture of cash and a bonus share dividend worth 4 riyals per share for 2013.-Reuters